Preparing My 3 Year Old For Preschool

Well, the time has come to begin preparing my 3-year-old for preschool.

My oldest daughter will be turning 4 in the fall, but it won’t be until after our school district’s deadline in September.

So instead of my daughter getting to start preschool with the other 4-year-olds this year, she will have to wait another year actually to go to preschool.

I could just wait another year to put her in preschool, but I don’t want her to be behind.

With this in mind, I knew that I wanted to go ahead and start looking for a preschool for her to attend this year so she can begin getting her education.

While I’m in the process of finding her preschool, I have been preparing her for what to expect when she does go to preschool.

She has already mentioned several times that she wants to go to school so I know that she is ready.

She has also seen many TV shows that show kids going to school, so she has developed a little understanding of what might happen when she goes to preschool.

So preparing her has been a little easier.

Here, I want to share what I have been doing to begin preparing my 3-year-old for preschool.

If you are interested in what I have been doing, then just keep reading.

*This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission for purchases made through links in this post. Please check out our Disclaimer Policy for more details.

Is My Child Ready For Preschool?

Before I get into how I have been preparing my daughter for preschool, let’s answer this question.

Is my child ready for preschool?

Well if your child is anything like mine, then they might be telling you that they are ready which is a clear sign that they are ready

But I know not every child is like mine.

Part of what makes our children ready for preschool is what we do as parents.

The writers over at Play To Learn Preschool state that children who are the readiest for preschool have parents who are doing the following:

• Reading daily to their children
• Talking/Conversating with their children
• Engaging in play with their children
• Encouraging independence within their children
• Practicing separation from their children

Which is exactly what I try to do with my daughter.

As many of you know, I’m a stay-at-home mom and neither of my girls has ever been in daycare.

They have been home with me for their entire lives, so when my oldest goes to preschool, it will be her first time in a daily setting away from me.

Since she has never been in daycare, I know that it may a tough transition for her even if she is saying that she is ready.

It’s one thing to read about going to preschool and seeing the kids on TV go to preschool.

But to actually experience going to preschool will be completely different.

Knowing this, I have been doing my best to prepare my daughter as best I can for when that time comes.

Now that we have an idea of what we can do to make sure our little ones are for preschool, let’s get into how I have been preparing my 3-year-old for preschool.

Preparing My 3 Year Old For Preschool

Introduce The Idea Of Preschool Through Books & TV Shows

The very first thing that I have been doing to prepare my daughter for preschool is to introduce the idea of preschool through books and TV Shows.

This is something that can be done easily with your child.

Throughout the day, the TV is normally on in our home so my daughter will watch it here and there.

Her favorite show at the moment is Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

There is an episode in which the main character, Daniel Tiger, goes to school for the first time and the show does a good job of showing how the transition will go.

Daniel was obviously a little nervous about going and being away from his parents, but he came around and realized how fun school could be.

This has become of one my daughter’s favorite episodes to watch.

Along with TV shows, we like to read books about preschool as well.

A great book that we have been reading about preschool is The Night Before Preschool.

This book is about a little boy who will be starting preschool and talks about how nervous and excited he is about going.

Part of my daughter’s bedtime routine is reading books so sometimes she will pick out this book to read before going to bed.

I will link this book below for anyone interested in getting this book.

If Not In Daycare, Take To Weekly Storytimes At Local Library

While on the topic of reading books, a great place to take your child to get used to a “preschool-like” atmosphere is the storytimes at your local library.

This is especially true for my fellow stay-at-home moms such as me who have their children full time.

If you have been keeping up with the blog, then you know already know that we visit our local library on a weekly basis for storytime.

It is one of the fun places where I love to take my daughter.

As I mentioned above, my daughter has never attended daycare so she has never experienced being under another authority or being around other kids (other than her younger sister) on a daily basis.

Obviously, the library is not a daycare, but your child will get some skills they will need for preschool by going to the library weekly.

Some of those skills that your child will learn from consistently going to the library for storytime are:

• Following directions
• Listening to an authority figure
• Building social skills with other kids
• Becoming better readers

These are some of the same skills that your child would also be learning in school so by taking your child to the library while they are young, they are already getting a headstart on these skills.

If you are a stay-at-home mom like me, then I highly recommend checking out your local library for their children’s storytimes.

Plus you get to hang out with other mamas which is definitely a win.

Start Practicing With Preschool Workbooks

Along with going to the library, we also started practicing with a preschool workbook.

When our little ones are off to preschool, they will not only be building social and listening skills but writing and literary ones as well.

Some of the things that my daughter already knows how to do are count to 10, identify different shapes and colors, and name different animals.

She can sing the alphabet but when it comes to actually name the letters individually, that is where it gets confusing for her so we have been working on it.

I got her this Pre-K Wipe Clean Workbook from Scholastic to not only help her with learning the alphabet but starting writing it as well.

And what I love about this workbook is that it has a dry-erase surface so we can continually use it over and over again.

My daughter gets practice tracing the letters in this book while also learning to identify the different letters in the alphabet.

Part of us starting this practice now is so that she gets accustomed to doing a little bit of “homework” that comes with being in school.

I link the workbook that we have below.

Encourage Independence

The next thing I have been doing with my 3-year-old to prepare her for preschool is encouraging independent practices.

Ever since going from 1 child to 2, I have felt that it was necessary to encourage more independence within my toddler.

When my baby girl was much smaller, I didn’t always have my hands readily available so I would have to tell my toddler often to handle certain tasks on her own.

Some of those tasks included getting dressed on her own, grabbing her own snacks and opening them, and even putting water in her own cup.

One of the things that I started doing with my toddler this year was having her do daily chores.

Some of these chores include:

• Throwing her own trash away
• Placing dirty dishes and utensils in the sink
• Putting her dirty clothes in the hamper
• Picking up her toys and books

These are also things that would be required of her if she were to go to school.

So by getting started with these good habits early on, she will definitely be ready to continue to do the same once she goes to preschool.

Practice Separation By Leaving Child With A Loved One

And the last thing we have been doing to prepare my 3-year-old for preschool is practicing separation.

Part of the fear of going to preschool for most kids is being away from their parents.

So a way to combat that fear is by practicing separation.

I highly recommend practicing separation with a loved one that deeply cares for your little ones and your child cares for them as well.

For many people, this is a grandparent.

My daughter and my parents have developed a really great bond over the past 3 years because they visit regularly and have watched her a couple of days by themselves a few times.

This summer we actually made the decision to let our daughter spend the entire week with her grandparents and I’m so glad that we did that.

Not only did we get a break, but she also got to bond even more with her grandparents.

Practicing separation helps with transitioning your child over to another trusted adult that will care for them.

Which is exactly what they will have to endure when they go to preschool.

So it helps to start now so hopefully, it helps when that day comes.

Your Turn

Well, that is how I have been preparing my 3-year-old for preschool. I want to hear from you all now. What are some tips that you have been using that have been helpful in preparing your 3-year-old for preschool? Let me know in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Travel Tips For Flying With A Baby And Toddler

Love,

Just Jass